


Cave of Regret

by Nyrandrea



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, all that good stuff, but can be seen as lewthur if you squint hard enough, this is meant to be platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 22:52:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyrandrea/pseuds/Nyrandrea
Summary: Arthur accepts his fate as Lewis finally gets his revenge, but will things take a different turn as the two talk it out?Takes place right after Hellbent.





	Cave of Regret

Arthur had squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to watch the impending death that was fast approaching him.

Nor did he want to look at the one that had sentenced him to it.

_“Lewis…?”_

He had barely even managed to utter the name before his former best friend dropped him to the stalactite pit below, watching with utter glee as his body lifelessly plummeted towards the spikes, soon to be impaled.

Though…there was a flash of something across his skeletal face. Guilt, perhaps?

No…Lewis had been set on killing him ever since their first encounter at the mansion. There was no way he was going to just regret it suddenly.

But… _why?_

After all this time that Arthur had spent searching for him. The long nights spent driving, researching possible locations Lewis might have ended up in, living with the fact that Vivi didn’t even seem to remember him…

Only to simultaneously find out that Lewis was, in fact, dead, and that his vengeful spirit wanted _him_ dead as well.

It just didn’t make any sense. What had he done to make Lewis hate him so much?

Well, it didn’t matter now anyway. This was it, the end of the road.

Arthur braced himself for the incoming impact, he only hoped it would be quick.

_‘Vivi…Mystery…I love you guys.’_ He finally thought with a small smile.

_‘….You too, Lewis.’_

His landing was rough, as he expected, but relatively painless. He couldn’t even feel the sharp stone go through him at all. Maybe the adrenaline from the van chase was still pumping through his body, completely dulling the pain.

It was also…surprisingly warm.

Arthur slowly cracked open an eye, not really knowing what to expect. Where was he going to end up? Heaven? Hell? Limbo? Maybe he was going to become a super badass fiery ghost like Lewis. He smirked slightly at the thought.

_‘Pfft. Badass. Yeah, right.’_

His grin was quickly wiped away when he was greeted with a familiar pair of glowing violet pupils, glaring daggers into him.

Arthur’s eyes went as wide as saucers and he quickly looked down, only to find that the stalactites that were supposed to be impaling him right now, were only mere inches away. The only thing between his body and the sharp rocks were Lewis’s skeletal but thick arms, cradling Arthur like some sort of damsel in distress.

To be perfectly honest, that term wasn’t very far from the truth.

It took every fibre of Arthur’s being not to burst out screaming and flail against the ghost that had been so hell-bent on killing him. He wanted nothing more than to somehow get out of here alive, grab Vivi and Mystery, and run for the hills.

Still…there was something oddly comforting about being held like this. Even though his best friend/wannabe murderer was still scrutinizing him.

Arthur finally found the courage to look up at Lewis, the skeleton averted his gaze slightly, as if he was deep in thought.

Probably still trying to decide whether to save Arthur or just let him drop.

“L…Lewis?” The young man tentatively tried, his voice cracking a bit. He flinched when Lewis’s skull swivelled to look at him again. Though the spectre didn’t have much to express with, the conflict in his eyes was blatantly clear.

“Lewis…it’s me…Arthur…I’m-“ He was immediately cut off as Lewis’s sockets narrowed into slits.

_“Yes. I know who you are.”_

With that, Arthur felt a sudden weight as Lewis’s arms gave out from beneath him, sending him plummeting back down.

With a high-pitched yelp, he felt himself roughly sprawl out onto a hard but flat surface. He quickly managed to sit up and looked around in confusion, only to realise that he was back on the ledge that he was initially dropped from.

Arthur didn’t even get a chance to let out a sigh of relief before Lewis’s hand grabbed the collar of his shirt, roughly hoisting him closer until their faces got dangerously close to each other. Beads of sweat slipped down Arthur’s head as he was exposed to the magenta flames that licked around Lewis’s skull.

_“And I know what you did.”_

God, his voice sounded so… _weird._ It was still Lewis but…distorted and somewhat ethereal as it softly echoed throughout the cavern.

And it was so… _angry._

“W-what?” Arthur barely managed to stutter as he struggled to take a breath against the smouldering heat, “What did I…what did I do? What _happened_ to you?”

The young man yelped as Lewis let go of his shirt, sending him to the ground once again. This time, he made sure to crawl back a bit, to try and create a somewhat safe distance between them.

_“Oh, don’t play dumb now, Arthur. I know you’ve always been a coward but… this?”_ The spectre scoffed before narrowing his eyes again, _“It’s almost like you want me to change my mind.”_

Arthur swallowed at that.

“But…I…I don’t understand. I-“

_“No.”_ Lewis interrupted, his tone becoming dark, _“I want you to admit it. I want to hear you say it.”_

The ghost loomed over him with his fists balled up, a puff of flames covering them.

_“Say it.”_

Arthur scooted back further in a frenzy, his metal arm limply dragging along the ground as he did. He didn’t get far though as his back was soon up against the rocky wall. All he could do was stare up in fear as Lewis loomed closer, his entire body nearly engulfed in flames now.

“I-I…” He swallowed again, “I…”

_“I…?”_ Lewis drawled out in a mocking tone, _“Come on! Say it!”_

“What the hell do you want me to say, man?!” Arthur shouted back, “What _did_ I do?!”

Arthur had never raised his voice at anyone before, mostly because he was not the confrontational type at all, and he never expected to do it to his best friend of all people. Maybe the ghost’s constant anger and hatred was starting to rub off on him

Didn’t mean he didn’t regret it though.

_“Unbelievable.”_ Lewis sneered, _“I’m giving you a chance to somewhat redeem yourself. I might have even forgiven you if you were actually sorry. But no, you’re still playing innocent.”_

The fire died down, but his resentment was still very much present.

_“You disgust me.”_

“What?!” Arthur angrily retorted, completely baffled. “You’ve got some fucking nerve saying that when _you’re_ the one who up and disappeared!”

Lewis raised a confused eyebrow.

_“What on earth are you talking about? You-“_

“I’ve been _looking_ for you, Lewis. Everywhere!” Arthur threw up his good arm to emphasise his point, “Do you know how many nights I’ve stayed up driving and…and searching through God knows how many places. Vivi doesn’t even remember you!”

The spectre flinched at that, his eyes tracing guiltily downwards ever so slightly.

_“I know.”_

“…What?”

_“I know she doesn’t remember.”_ Lewis said, still looking down, _“I erased her memory of me.”_

“You…w-what?” Arthur was completely dumbfounded; this situation was making less sense by the second, “How did you-?”

_“My last dying wish.”_ Lewis interrupted, glaring back up at Arthur.

_“I didn’t want her to remember.”_

“R…Remember…?” He was almost afraid to ask.

_“She saw me die, Arthur.”_

Lewis didn’t even give the shocked man a second to answer back as he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt again and roughly lifted him up to eye-level.

_“She saw me…”_ The ghost dragged Arthur back to the ledge, making sure he got a good look at the stalactites below, earning a small shriek from him.

_“…get impaled by those rocks down there.”_

Arthur gasped for breath as Lewis hoisted him up again.

_“She saw my heart get ripped out!”_

As Lewis raised his voice, the dark grey heart that hovered next to his chest was starting to beat erratically, this was the first time Arthur had even noticed it.

“You…Your…”

_“All because of you.”_

Arthur couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he didn’t want to believe it.

“No…no I didn’t…I wouldn’t…” He whimpered.

_“Yes. You. DID!!”_ Lewis screamed as he furiously threw Arthur to the ground.

_“You pushed me! You MURDERED me! ADMIT IT!”_

Arthur scrambled back, tears threatening to escape his eyes as stared up at his former best friend, completely petrified.

“Lewis…”

_“Actually, you know what? I change my mind.”_

Lewis lifted a hand and closed his fist as flames angrily engulfed it.

_“You don’t deserve to live.”_

Arthur’s eyes widened.

* * *

The cave. They were investigating some…demonic presence that had the local town spooked. People had went missing inside, Arthur had an incredibly bad feeling about taking the case.

Lewis and Vivi just shrugged him off though, they told him that he _always_ had a bad feeling with every case they took. They never really took his opinions seriously, so he was used to it at this point. They always called the shots.

Still, his anxiety was worse than usual.

As they explored, they came to a fork in the cave system. Vivi and Mystery took one route, Arthur and Lewis took another. Once again, he tried to convince them to leave, but to no avail. All he could do was stick close to Lewis and pray that there was nothing in there.

His prayers went unanswered.

Lewis was looking over the ledge that led to some big drop with a bunch of sharp rocks at the bottom, Arthur had decided to hang back a bit and try to calm his nerves.

**_‘They never listen to you…’_ **

Arthur spun around, trying to catch sight of whatever had just spoke.

“Did you hear that?” Arthur asked, clutching his left arm, which started to tingle slightly.

“Hear what?” Lewis nonchalantly answered, still observing the drop below.

**_‘He’s going to abandon you. They both will.’_ **

To both his surprise and utter horror, his arm started to lift on its own. His skin took on a sickly pale green and as the hand opened, something started to form in his palm.

**_‘He doesn’t deserve to live.’_ **

Arthur felt numb as he watched Lewis plummet below, a wicked grin formed on the left side of his face.

The shadow of an animal loomed behind him.

Everything went dark.

* * *

“Oh my God….it…it _was_ me…. I did it….”

Arthur wasn’t even looking at Lewis anymore as he prepared to strike him down. Instead, his wide eyes trailed down to his limp, metal arm.

“I….I killed you….” His voice had dropped to a mere whisper as he tried to make sense of what he just saw, but he couldn’t. He just…couldn’t.

Even Lewis seemed a little caught off-guard as he slowly lowered his fist and floated back down to the ground, all the while watching Arthur as he continued to stare at his arm like it had taken a life of its own or something.

_“…Arthur?”_ He finally asked, deciding to put his anger to the side for the time being.

Lewis’s voice snapped Arthur out of his trance a little as he looked up to the ghost with the same dumbstruck look, his breath started to shudder.

“I…I _killed_ you…?” He slowly asked, tears now freely rolling down his cheeks.

Lewis was completely taken aback now.

He expected Arthur to get on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness, he expected him to try to run and hide, only for Lewis to find him and finally give him what he deserves.

Not…not this.

Arthur started to mutter uncontrollably, bringing up his free hand to cover his face as he sobbed.

“I’m sorry…Oh God, I’m so sorry….”

Lewis just stared at him blankly, not really knowing how to respond to the situation. Ever since he had taken on this ghostly form, all he had ever felt was resentment and unfiltered hatred for Arthur. The only thing, other than seeing Vivi again, that had driven him to this point was revenge.

Now he just felt…confused. He wanted to help Arthur up. Tell him it wasn’t his fault. That everything was fine.

But at the same time, he couldn’t. Wasn’t this what he wanted? For Arthur to feel like this?

_“Your arm.”_ Lewis finally said.

Arthur slowly lifted his head up from his hand to look at him, his eyes red and still streaming with water.

The spectre decided to sit down to Arthur’s level and crossed his legs, resting his hands on his knees. He hoped it would make him look somewhat less intimidating. If that was even possible.

_“What happened to it?”_

Arthur seemed slightly taken aback by the question, as he looked down at it before raising an eyebrow at Lewis.

“…S-seriously…?” He managed to croak out as he wiped at his eyes, “That’s what you have to say to me after-“

_“Just humour me.”_

There was a pause.

“I…well…I lost it.”

This time it was Lewis’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

_“You lost it.”_ He stated in a deadpan tone.

“Yeah…uh…animal got it.” There was a pause as Arthur instinctively rubbed the metal limb, “Tore it clean off, must have been pretty damn hungry.” He said with a nervous chuckle.

Lewis didn’t react, however. Choosing instead to look down and remain silent.

“Why…?” Arthur started, not sure how to go about this.

_“Hm?”_ Lewis glanced back up, his violet pupils dimming down.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” Arthur reluctantly asked, “You… want your revenge, right? For what I did.”

_“I…I don’t know.”_ The ghost answered in a whispered tone.

“Huh?”

_“I **said…** ” _Lewis raised his voice, sending a tense Arthur scooting back again. Lewis instantly regretted it, he almost wanted to reach out and apologise, but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

_“I don’t know.”_

“Oh…” Was all the young man could muster out in response. A few more moments of complete silence went by with the two of them just sitting there. Lewis just continued to stare at the floor despondently, while Arthur kept a wary eye on him.

 He kept half-expecting his former best friend to spontaneously burst into flames and toss him over the ledge.

“H-Hey.” Arthur weakly started, deciding to try and brush his fears to the side for now. “You alright…?”

Lewis simply gave him an annoyed look in response.

Arthur tried going for something a little more specific.

“What’s up with your heart? It looks…cracked and…weird.”

The spectre paused for a moment before he lifted his bony hand up slightly, making Arthur instantly tense up.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the weakly thumping heart slowly floated over to Arthur, who held out a trembling hand to catch it. It settled into his palm, still beating softly every now and then.

_“Look inside.”_ Lewis offered, watching Arthur very closely.

Before he could even respond, the heart opened up like a locket, revealing a picture of Lewis when he was still alive, along with Vivi, laughing and holding each other close.

They looked so…happy together.

Arthur couldn’t even bring himself to say anything, it was taking everything in him right now to not burst into tears.

_“She was the only thing that really kept me going through all this.”_ Lewis finally said, _“My anger for you was what drove me but…more than anything, I just wanted to see her again.”_

“At the mansion…” Arthur trailed off, still looking at the photo.

_“You didn’t know it was me. You were just trying to protect her from a scary, murderous ghost.”_ Lewis tried to joke, _“Suppose I should apologise for that, actually.”_

“No.”

Arthur’s blunt response caught Lewis off-guard.

_“Pardon?”_

“You shouldn’t apologise for _anything,_ Lewis.” Arthur’s voice trembled, “Not after what I did.”

_“Arthur, I don’t think-“_

“No!” He shouted while shakily standing up, still clutching onto Lewis’s heart, “No, don’t you dare make excuses for me, you _always_ do that!”

Lewis rose up as well. Once again, he was surprised by Arthur’s outburst.

“Come on, just…” Arthur opened up his arms, “Take your shot, man.”

_“What?”_

“Kill me! Burn me up, throw me over the ledge, punch me, I don’t care! Get your revenge a-and then…go be with Vivi. You need her, and she needs you.”

Lewis gave Arthur an incredulous look.

_“You’re being-“_

“What? Ridiculous? Stupid?” Arthur interrupted, “Lewis, I killed you _. Murdered_ you! You have to do something!” He yelled desperately, before his eyes widened, “What…what if I do it again…?”

_“Arthur.”_

“W-what if I do it to Vivi…? O-or Uncle Lance…?” Arthur’s breathing started to become erratic as he imagined all sorts of horrible scenarios, he didn’t even see Lewis coming towards him.

“I’m a mur…I’m a…I’m a murde…”

Arthur’s broken voice got caught in his throat when he felt himself be enveloped by a warm embrace, one hand pressing his head against the chest of Lewis’s silky black suit, while the other supported his back, keeping him from crippling down to the ground.

_“Arthur, please…just…stop.”_

He was so desperate to pull away, to beg for a swift end. He was so tired…so tired…

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Lewis....sorry…” Arthur muttered over and over as he buried his head into his friend, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

Lewis, once again, opted to stay silent. Choosing instead to simply hold Arthur while he sobbed.

His violet eyes glanced down for a moment as he tried to figure out this whole jumbled mess, his mind was racing. His anger had completely disappeared at this point, instead he was just…confused, worried and… sorrowful.

Arthur had never been emotionally or physically strong, which often put Lewis in the role of his bodyguard in their many haunted excursions since Vivi often went off exploring on her own.

But… this was something else.

Arthur’s wracked body shivers seemed to have calmed, his sobbing had gone quieter as well. Lewis decided to check on him.

_“Feeling any better?”_ He gently asked.

The young man slowly nodded his head before taking a deep breath.

“Sorry, I just…lost it, I guess.”

_“Don’t be. It’s fine. Honestly.”_

Arthur slowly moved his head to look up, his eyes widening slightly.

“Lewis…?”

The ghost’s skull had completely disappeared and was replaced by the more familiar sight of Lewis’s human face.

_“Arthur.”_

Lewis slowly broke up the hug and moved his hands to rest on Arthur’s shoulders, giving him a calm look.

_“I don’t think you did it.”_

“What?! But I did, we both-!”

_“Let me finish, please.”_ Lewis firmly said.

“…Sorry.”

_“You said you were looking for me before, right?”_

“I…well, yeah but…we both…saw…” Arthur trailed off, before rubbing his temples in frustration, “God, I’m so confused…”

_“Me too.”_ Lewis admitted, _“But there’s more to this, and your arm.”_

Arthur instinctively went to hold it, before stopping himself.

“It’s like I said, animal tore it off.”

Lewis frowned, _“C’mon Arthur, I know you. First sign of something dangerous and you’re off.”_

Arthur shot him an annoyed glance at that, forcing Lewis to reconsider his words.

_“It’s a good thing! You’re uh…a really fast runner.”_ He tried to compliment.

“Gee, thanks.”

The light-hearted exchange died quickly though as Arthur awkwardly looked away.

“There…might be something else.”

Lewis’s eyes lit up, and he nodded to encourage him, _“Go on.”_

“It happened right after…the cave.”

_“After you pushed me? What, was there a bear in there or something?”_

“No, it was… um, promise you won’t get really pissed off again and go after him or something.”

_“Him?”_

Arthur nervously looked down and fiddled with his metal arm, “…Mystery.”

_“Wait, what?”_ Lewis asked, completely gobsmacked, _“Mystery bit your arm off?!?”_

“I-I think so? I can’t…really remember but…in the cave, I felt _really_ weird. You were at the ledge, I wanted to hang back a bit-“

_“You asked me if I had heard something.”_ Lewis interrupted, his brow furrowed in thought.

“…Yeah. There was this…voice. Telling me to do stuff, that if I didn’t…”

Lewis listened intently, though he was looking more concerned by the second.

Arthur swallowed, “Then something just…came over me. My arm… it just…” He couldn’t even finish that sentence.

“Then there was this…massive shadow, looked like Mystery but…way bigger. Then I blacked out, woke up in hospital later and…arm was gone, you were gone. My mind was just blank, I asked Vivi where you were but…she didn’t even know your name.”

There was a moment of silence between them as they both tried to digest Arthur’s words.

In a way, he felt ten times lighter for letting all of this out, like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders, but…he had no idea how Lewis would react.

To his complete surprise, he was brought in for a hug once again.

_“I…am so sorry you had to go through all of that. Then having me come after you like a lunatic…”_

“Hey, you didn’t know. We both had no idea.” Arthur said as he chose to return the hug this time, though he could only use one arm, “I’m just…really glad to see you again, man. I…I missed you.”

Lewis smiled down at him, small tears building at the corners of his eyes.

_“Me too. I can’t wait to see Vivi again…”_

His smile turned into a slight frown, _“Though I might need to have a talk with Mystery…”_

“T-there’s no need for that!” Arthur tried to reassure in a panicked tone, “He was just protecting Vivi, and he saved my life. If he hadn’t…whatever that thing was…”

_“Yes, I suppose you’re right. But we’ll need to get to the bottom of that. We need to-“_

Lewis was interrupted by a loud thump, both looked around wildly for whatever threat could be lurking about.

A bright yellow glow caught Arthur’s eye.

“Dude, your heart…”

Sure enough, the organ that had been greyed and cracked was now beating with new life. It floated in front of them before opening to reveal a new picture inside.

Arthur, Lewis and Vivi had their arms around each other in a group hug, with Mystery in Vivi’s arms. All of them had massive grins on their faces as they posed for the camera.

Lewis held the heart in his hand for a moment before smiling and closing it, putting it back over his chest.

_“Thank you.”_

Arthur blinked, “For what?”

_“For fixing it.”_

Arthur gave him a tired smile in return, before his eyes widened in both realisation and horror.

“Oh my God, Vivi!”

Lewis immediately tensed up at Arthur’s tone, _“What’s wrong?”_

“She’s still up there with that…thing, a uh…a plant lady? It attacked the van while you were chasing us, we have to get back up there!”

Lewis’s frowned before his head was engulfed in flames, returning him to his more skeletal form.

_“…Yes. I think I know who you mean. She’s quite dangerous.”_

Arthur hesitated, taking a second to breathe deeply as he tried to psyche himself up for the impending danger. As if hadn’t dealt with enough tonight…

He nearly flinched when he felt a hand rest on top of his head, giving his hair a quick ruffle.

_“Don’t worry, Artie. I’m on your side now. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”_

Lewis turned to look at the entrance to the cave, a new burst of fierce determination radiating from him.

_“Either of you.”_

Arthur gave a little determined nod of his own, and the two of them exited the cave and back towards the entrance of Lewis’s ghostly lorry.

Unbeknown to them, a sickly green pupil watched them from the shadows.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if the end felt rushed but I hit a slight writer's block while writing this. But hey, let me know what y'all think!
> 
> Be sure to follow me on Tumblr if you want extra content, art and all around nonsense! 
> 
> https://nyrandrea.tumblr.com/


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